Excerpts from the most important news on Ukraine
moscow helped Assad ‘build chemical arsenal’
15.07.2020
The moscow companies and tax havens in British territories were used by a russian-Syrian business network to transfer millions for the Assad regime, thetimes.co.uk reports.The network, run by Mudalal Khouri and his brothers, is said to have helped developing the regime’s chemical weapons.An international campaign group tracing money used for corruption, Global Witness, says the network helped President Assad’s uncle to set himself up in moscow in 2012.MH17: The Netherlands brings russia before European Court of Human Rights
12.07.2020
Today, the Dutch government decided to bring russia before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for its role in the downing of Flight MH17. By submitting an inter-State application, the government is sharing all available and relevant information about the downing of Flight MH17 with the ECtHR, informs Government.nl on Friday, July 10.The contents of the inter-State application will also be incorporated into the Netherlands’ intervention in the individual applications submitted by the victims’ next of kin against russia to ...russian currency is introduced in the occupied parts of Donbas – OSCE
11.07.2020
OSCE Coordinator in the economic working group at Trilateral Contact Group Ulrich Brandenburg confirmed the introduction of russian currency in the occupied parts of Donbas, ukrinform reports.“OSCE Coordinator in the TCG Economic Working Group Ambassador Brandenburg confirmed during the informal briefing on 8 June the introduction of russian currency in the occupied parts of Donbas,” Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna, said at the OSCE Permanent Council meeting on 9 July 2020.He reminded that the OSCE ...NATO exercises will soon take place near the ports of Burgas and Odesa
11.07.2020
Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2), led by the Spanish frigate Alvaro de Bazan (F-101), has set course for the northwestern part of the Black Sea where multinational exercises will soon take place near the ports of Burgas and Odesa, ukrinform reports.“The ships will take part in naval maneuvers. Later, they will visit the Ukrainian city of Odesa,” the report said.According to Spanish Navy Captain Manuel Aguirre, who heads Standing NATO Maritime Group Two, the exercises will help achieve NATO’s ...NBU does an excellent job – IMF
11.07.2020
The National Bank of Ukraine does an excellent job and performs its tasks in accordance with the law, and the banking sector is reported to be in good shape, ukrinform.net reports.“By all criteria, the National Bank is doing an excellent job and performing its tasks effectively, as defined in the Constitution and the law on the NBU. Currently, inflation rate is low, international reserves are large, and the banking sector is in good shape,” IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine Goesta ...European Commission sues Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands over anti-money laundering
03.07.2020
The European Commission has today referred Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands to the Court of Justice of the European Union, with a request for financial sanctions, for failing to fully implement the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive into their national law, ec.europa.eu reports.Following an assessment of the notified measures by these Member States, the Commission has concluded AMLD4 has not been fully transposed into national law.The incomplete transposition concerns fundamental aspects of the anti-money laundering framework, such as betting and ...Ukraine allows logging that massively exceeds levels determined to be sustainable
03.07.2020
Ikea is the largest consumer of timber from Ukraine, a country whose lush forests are one of the last strongholds for large European mammals like bear, bison, lynx and wolf. Over 18 months, Earthsight has gone on the trail to investigate Ikea’s Ukrainian timber purchases, tracing some of Ikea’s most iconic products from shelves to their forest source. In July 2018, Earthsight released the findings of a previous investigation on illegal logging in Ukraine that showed state-owned forests were suffering from ...NBU Governor resigns due to systematic political pressure
02.07.2020
Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Yakiv Smolii has submitted a letter of resignation to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the central bank’s press service posted on Facebook.“Today , Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Yakiv Smolii has signed and submitted his letter of resignation to the President,” reads the statement.“The National Bank of Ukraine has been under systematic political pressure for a long time. This makes it impossible for me, as Governor, to effectively perform my ...Ukraine’s fantasy conspiracy theories were largely pushed by Rudy Giuliani
28.06.2020
John Bolton believed President Trump’s actions toward Ukraine, which eventually led to his impeachment and acquittal, were being guided by “Ukraine fantasy conspiracy theories” largely pushed on him by Rudy Giuliani.Bolton, who resigned as Trump’s national security adviser last year, finally revealed his thoughts on Trump, Ukraine, and the impeachment fight in his new book, The Room Where It Happened, a copy of which was provided to the Washington Examiner. Bolton offered to testify in the impeachment trial earlier this year only if the Republican-led ...The transit of russian gas through Ukraine may cease due to Tymoshenko
28.06.2020
The transit of russian gas to Europe through Ukraine may cease due to the activity of Yulia Tymoshenko, liga.net reports.Recently, several dozens of MPs, including Yuriy Boyko, Yulia Tymoshenko and Sergey Levochkin, appealed to the Constitutional Court with a request to cancel the unbundling of Naftogaz.“After that, most likely, the Energy Community Secretariat will tell us that we have not fulfilled our obligations and will take the certification from the GTS Operator. Then we will receive a letter ...Kyiv named the best for start-up ecosystem in emerging Europe
22.06.2020
Kyiv is named the best start-up ecosystem in emerging Europe in a report conducted by Startup Blink, a start-up research center.Of 1,000 cities across the globe, Kyiv was named as the 32nd best ecosystem in the world, eighth-best in Europe, and first in emerging Europe. Startup Blink rates cities according to the number of start-ups, how well they drive innovation, and the business environment.For Kyiv, the report cites the quality of developers as the main factor contributing to the ...Moody’s takes rating actions on six Ukrainian Banks
20.06.2020
Moody’s upgraded the ratings and assessments of six Ukrainian banks (as applicable: Privatbank, Savings Bank of Ukraine, Ukreximbank, Raiffeisen Bank Aval, Pivdennyi Bank, JSCB, Sberbank PJSC).Moody’s also revised the outlooks for the ratings of these six banks to stable from positive. The rating action follows Moody’s upgrade of Ukraine’s sovereign debt rating to B3 stable from Caa1 positive on June 12, 2020. Concurrently, Moody’s downgraded the Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) and adjusted BCA of one bank (Ukreximbank).The rating agency’s ...
